UNGA adopts by consensus resolution introduced by India to establish memorial wall to honour fallen peacekeepers
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted by consensus a draft resolution piloted by India to establish a memorial wall in the UN headquarters here to honour fallen peacekeepers.
The passage of the resolution in the UNGA on Wednesday with a record 190 co-sponsorships came days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis official state visit to the United States and his participation in the International Yoga Day celebrations at the United Nations headquarters on June 21.
Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj introduced the draft resolution titled Memorial wall for fallen United Nations peacekeepers on Wednesday in the UN General Assembly Hall and it was adopted by consensus.
It welcomed the initiative of member states to establish at a suitable and prominent place at United Nations Headquarters in New York a memorial wall to honour the memory of fallen peacekeepers, giving due consideration to the modalities involved, including the recording of the names of those who have made the supreme sacrifice.” While introducing the resolution, Kamboj said the memorial wall will be a testimony to the importance that the UN bestows on peacekeeping.
She said it will remind people of not only the sacrifices of the fallen but also be a “constant reminder of the cost of our decisions.
The resolution was submitted by 18 countries including Bangladesh, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Nepal, Rwanda and the US.
Prime Minister Modi on Thursday thanked countries for supporting Indias resolution.
“Delighted that the Resolution to establish a new Memorial Wall for fallen Peacekeepers, piloted by India, has been adopted in the UN General Assembly,” the prime minister tweeted.
“The Resolution received a record 190 co-sponsorships. Grateful for everyones support,” he said.
India is currently the 3rd largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping with more than 6,000 military and police personnel deployed to Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East and Western Sahara.
About 177 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice, the highest number by far from any troop-contributing country.
“Peacekeepers are not born. They are forged through the crucible of sacrifice. Their unwavering commitment and selfless acts pave the way for a world where peace must triumph over conflict, Kamboj said.
The resolution stipulates that the wall be completed within three years of the texts adoption.
In 2015, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN launched a virtual memorial wall, dedicated to the Indian troops who made the supreme sacrifice while doing active service as UN peacekeepers.
The initiative was a precursor to the eventual construction of the Peacekeepers Memorial Wall. India had proposed the construction of the memorial wall as an appropriate way to commemorate all the troops from UN member states who had given their lives while on duty under the Blue Flag of the United Nations.
Prime Minister Modi, in his address to the Leaders Summit on Peacekeeping hosted by then-US President Barack Obama at the UN Headquarters in September 2015 during the high-level General Assembly week, paid homage to the peacekeepers who laid down their lives in defending the highest ideals of the United Nations.
It would be most fitting if the proposed memorial wall to the fallen peacekeepers is created quickly. India stands ready to contribute, including financially, to this objective, Modi had said.
Earlier in 2015, Indias then-Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asoke Mukerji said that peacekeepers are brave and dedicated human beings who are sent into so many volatile and unpredictable situations to uphold the principles and objectives of the UN Charter.
He said with the UN Headquarters Renovation Project almost complete, we propose that the C34 recommend the construction of a UN Peacekeepers Memorial Wall, with the names of all those UN peacekeepers since 1948 who have laid down their lives to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” “India is ready to contribute materially and conceptually to such a project, he said at the Opening Session of the Annual Debate of the United Nations Special Committee for Peacekeeping Operations (C34).
Following the adoption of the resolution, Mukerji told
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